January 25, 2011

Initial reports about a blast just heard in Lahore say that at least 7 people were killed, including four policemen, and at least 47 wounded in an explosion near a Shia mourning procession at the Bhati Gate (The News, Geo, Dawn, AP, BBC). Police said the blast, coming as thousands of Shia worshippers marked the end of the holy month of Muharram, was a suicide attack by a teenage boy.

Karin Brulliard describes the University of Karachi, where last semester ended "with a flurry of clashes involving armed student organizations, a professors' strike against violence, canceled exams and a lunchtime bombing," as a microcosm of ethnic and political conflict in the southern port city, where three times as many people died in political violence in 2010 as in 2009 (Post). Pakistani interior minister Rehman Malik recently ruled out an army operation in Karachi, though did say the Pakistani army would be sent "wherever the need arises" (The News, Dawn).

Leaders from the Indian political party the BJP, a Hindu nationalist group currently in the opposition, were reportedly detained at the airport in Jammu en route to making an attempt to raise the Indian flag in the Lal Chowk area of Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian-administered Kashmir in commemoration of Republic Day tomorrow, marking India's adoption of a democratic constitution (AP, IE, Hindu). More than a dozen Kashmiri separatist groups said they would oppose any such attempts, and Indian and Kashmiri authorities are concerned the move would cause violence in the valley.

Sgt. Mike Stokely died Aug. 16, 2005, in Iraq. He was one of those
extraordinary young men who have a tremendous impact on so many people
even though his time among us was cut short.
To honor his memory, Stokely's family has organized the Mike Stokely
Foundation for the purpose of helping children and others who might not
otherwise be able to afford it gain access to good books and the skills
needed to read them for pleasure and learning.
"Mike loved to read, from the time he was a small child till the day he
died in Iraq. In fact, during the last call his Dad received on Aug. 8,
2005, he talked in glowing terms about how much he appreciated reading
material sent to him," his family explains.
If you would like to help honor the memory of one of America's fallen,
more information about the Mike Stokely Foundation at P. O. Box 833 Sharpsburg GA 30277.
The telephone is 678-416-1387